Rod weeder bearing



- Oct. 26,1943. I TUFT Em 2,332,617

ROD WEEDER BEARING Filed April 16 1941 INVENTORS. MILES H 7 UFT 0L PEN E7. RASMUSSBV g3, y 4 TTYQ.

Patented Oct. 26, 1943 NT O'FFlC-E' 3 ROD WEEQDER BEARING MilesH.Tuft,"'0ttumwa, Iowa, and Clarence 'I'. I Rasmussen,'Moline,-Ill.,assignors to Deere &

Company, Illinois Moline, r 111.,- a corporation, of

ApplicationApril'lfi, 1941," Serial No. assist (01. 97-42) 12 Claims.

The present invention relates genem1it'id gfi. cultural machines andmoreparticularly torod weeders and the like. More particularly, thepresent invention is concerned with the bearings for the rotary rod of arod, weeder or thelikeL A rotary rod weeder consists; generally ofitwoor more shanks carrying shoes at their lower ends;

in which a rotary rod is disposed, together with suitable framework andother operative structure. The rod weeder is operated withthe shoes andthe rod below the surface of the groun'dfia suitable distance, the rodbeing propelled broadside through the soil and rotated in such a manneras to destroy weeds and other growth. Bearings have to be provided theshoes to reing the draft of. the implemmt. H a The object and generalnature. ofthisinvenf tion is the provision of a bearing for the rotary;rod of a rotary rodWeeder which is so constructed and arranged as toprovide adequate .bearingPan'd',

bearing for the rodjwithout objectionably increassupport for the rotaryrodbut withoutoffering too much resistance to theforward movement of therod and shoes through the'grou nd. f More specifically, it is a. featureof this invention to provide a bearing constructionin which arod reg,ceiving .journal member is formed generally spherically and issupportedin the, rod weeder shoe ,by a bearing block. havinga concave isur-i faceto receive the sphericaliournal member. The'spherical journal memberrotates with the rod and being of generally sphericalconfigura tionprovides adequate bearing surface to sustain all loads imposed thereon,and lo-y virtue of its shape it serves to minimize the resistance toforward travel of the bearingstructureand associated parts of th shoeand. rod. Another fea ture of this invention is, the provision ofexternal grooves, on the rod receiving journal member which are. soangularly related that the grooves tend toforce dirt, soil and. the likeout fro lm ,between the bearingv block and the rodgreceiving shoe,thereby keeping the bearing surfaces .e'an and easy running; Furthenthe'groovesalso act to preventthe dirt andsoil from cloggingin the bearingand materially increasing the power re: quired to rotate the rod inoperation. j

Still further, it is an additional. feature, of this invention toprovide means cooperating with the concave bearing block for j insuring.thatthe spherical journal .memberon the rotary rod will ceive therotary rod, and since such bearings, operate underthe surface of theground anaym, intimate contact with soil, grit and the like it has beena serious problem to provide. adequate ture in which the principles ofventio'n have been incorporated;

be held iiipm ein the shoe, irrespectiveof side thrusts and the likewhich might tend to force. thejournal member outo f place,-especiallywhen turning the implement with the "rod in the ground.

These andothe'r objects and advantages of the present invention will'beapparent to those skilled in theart after a c onsideration'of thefollowin description, taken in conjunction'with the acCompanying drawingin which-a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated.In the drawing:

l jigurel is a side view of t he lower end-of: a1

rddweeder shank or pendant,- together with the rod weedenshoe andassociated bearingstructhe presentdn-v.

Figure 2 is a top View of'the structure shown inFigurel J Figure 3* is aperspectiveview 0f thebearin'g' block "showing the concave portionthereof that receives'the sphericaljrod' receiving bushing or journalmember;

Figured isa view'of the spherical bushing r]jou r"nal "member, showingthe 'dirt ejecting grooves inane bearing surface'thereof Figure 5 is' a'perspective view of one ofthe two 'rer'no'vable lugs which: serVeT'thedouble pur-- pose or providing a bearing. surface at'th front end'iof"the shoe of adequate lateral dimension andmeansembracing the sphericalbushing or journal member a sufiicient extent to retain the latter inposition in the rod weedershoe; and \1 Figure 6 isan enlargedfragmentary section taken along the line ti -6 of Figure 1. r Referringnovv'to the drawing, more particu larlytoFigu'res 1 and 2, the referencenumeral indicates one of th'es'hank's orpendants of a rod Weeder, thefront end or which'is formed so'as to extend forwardly and slightlydownwardly. The

front portion :ofthe shank l is apertured to receivea pair of bolts 2and Why which a shoe 3 is adapted'to be fixedrig'idly to theshank. Theshoe dconsists of a flat plate lik member and, asillustrated, isreversible end for end, although such construction'isnot essential tothe present invention in its broader aspects. Toreceive'the rotary thansquare, which i preferred,fthe; opening l in the journal member l5 will,of course, 'corre spond. The spherical or ball-like journal member I5 isadapted to be disposed Within the front' shoe opening 1. Since inoperation the greatest pressure is rearwardly and upwardly, to sustainthis pressure I provide a bearing block 21 which 3 is formed with aconcave spheroidal bearing surface 22. attaching flange 23 which isapertured, as at 24,

The member H is providedwith an the like out from between thecooperating bearing surfaces of the members [5 and 2| and results in abearing that is self-cleaning, which results in light draft and maximumpenetrating ability. The penetrating ability of a rod Weeder shoe havingthe bearing construction of thepresent invention i materially enhancedby the fact that thejournal member I5 is spherlcahas compared with priorconstructions which employ cylindrical bearings presenting much greaterresistance to movement of the shoe through the soil. The

shape of the spherical bushing and the fact that 11; rotates; 'resultsia unit that can be forced I, 7

through the soilwith minimum draft. The jourto receive a pair of bolts25 which secure t e bearing block 2! in place on the shoe 4 with nalmember I5 and the bearing block 2| are of wear-resisting material thatis extremely hard and in normal. operation takes on a mirror-like polishwhich insures minimum friction and long the bearing surface 22 directlybehind the sphri cal journal member [5. As best shown in Figures.

2 and 3, the attaching flange 23 is disposedat.

one side of the plane of the center of the socket 22, whereby when theblock El is fixed to, the shoe, the center of the bear-in surface 22lies in the central plane of the shoe. (Figure 2) The bolts 25 whentightened securely hold the bear: ing block l5 against the shoe plate 4,but to sus tain the greater proportion of forces due to the rotation ofthe journal member l5. we provid a transverse fin 21 on the bearingblock .2}, the fin 21 having a thic ness that fitsasnugly within theslot 8. By this means the bearingblock is secured firmly and rigidly tothe rod weeder shoe 4.

It will be notedfrom Figure 1 that t e, sa e block 2| is soiformed andso mounted on the shoe 4 that the bearing surface 22 of the. member H isdisposed in a position Iea-rwardly and upwardly withirespect to,thecenter of the spheri cal bushing or journal member l5. Arline-passe.

ing through the center of the surface 22 and the center of the ball 15,.or the axis of rotation of the rod 6, will be disposed at an angle ofappr0ximately 30 degrees with respoctto. the horizontal. when normallyin operation; This leaves an adequate spaces below th bearing block. '2]ta ermit soil to be worked out of the 'be n I will be remembered thatthis beaiing operates directly in contact with the soil and tha nolubrication is practical. Some bearings have a tendency to clog withsoil buildin up between the two bearing surfaces of the bearing bloc};and the journal member. and sometimes the bearing binds, resulting inbroken driving chains an other damage. By virtue of disposin the. earsing surface of the bearing block 2! ate. point up.- wardly andrearwardly of the. iournai member, the bearing surface is disposed inthe line of I pressure and provides the space S just referred to whichfacilitates soil and dirt fallin out of th bearing or working out ofthe-bearing during operation. This is further aidedby the space sbetween the front of the boa-ring '5 End th forwardiedge 'l of the shoeopening 1," o i In order'to facilitate Working th, dirt out of thebearing, we provide the journal member [5 with r oves 3! and 32011 i s priph y Th grooves are fairi sballow but are arrang d-at an angleto oneanother so as to term, infeffect, a V, with the point or apexextending'in thedirection of rotation of the journal member 15, whichdirection of rotation is indicated in th drawin by the small arrow.Disposing the grooves; 3|

and 32 at anangle, as indicated. provides a very eflicient constructionfor working soil, dirt and life in'these important parts. y

In operation the soil pressure, as mentioned above, is directedrupwardlyand rearwardly at about an angle of 30, degrees, andsinc thebearingblock 21 has the concave spheroidal surfacev 22, which embraces thespherical journal memher, l5, the latter i therefore. held againstlateral d splacement along th rod 6. I may o however, that side thrustmay develop, andin order to insure that the ball-like bushing 15f willnotice forced laterally out of position in the s e. We provide a pair ofre ai in p e s 5 I one for each side of the bearing shoe .4. ",These'retaining embers a epracti ally ident cal-and a h includes an an ledbushin engasin section 35 and an attachina section: 3 The' lot formedwith a substanti .l yisqua eiin a' d v x-.

tend an rt ed oss 31 hat is ad'epted'to'nti in the square hole I: infront trmennresoun A] f athead rivet, 38 extends shoe .openingflthroughthe inwardly disposed bosses?! ..Q.f h retaining members 34 and servesasymeans or securing the members 34 in position. with the an s dsections 35 extendin around the frontnor: P

tionfof the bushing 15 for a considerable extent:

-I embracing the same so thattheball 15 will not;

" be forced laterally out of the. shoeA f, Asshowri in Figure 2, thelaterally outenends35 of'tlie members 34extend 1a oral y about the busing 15 at the front as farasthe bearinell extends;

. laterally about. the. bushing [5 at the rear, but

the vertical dimension of the members 3 Whil suflicient to provide therequisite strength, is not; great enough to interfere with the passa eof the unit through the soil, which is fwilltated bv the shape or thebushin or iournalmemberlias mentioned above.

When the extension members 3.4 a e. used, the bearing is assembled byfirst bringing the bail l5 in position in the .hoeopening i againstitheparts 34. Then the bearing memberzlis dis posed entirely to one side ofthe sho with the socket 22 against the spheroidal surface .of'the,

member l5 and with the edge opposite the'fla' v 23 adjacent the rearedge of the shoe opening 1;;

. The outer face or surface of the spheroidal socket section is alsospheroidal or curved, so that the bearin member [5 may readilybefbrought into position in the shoe opening behind the ball 15 merelyby sliding'the bearing member 2|"ov'er the surface of th ball untilthefln ZTseats in the opening 8 and the center of'the spheroidal socketsurface 22 lies in the plane of the shoeli 'It will also be noted fromFigure 6 'that"the recessed boss 3'! permits the use of aflathead rivetso'that there are'noobjectionabl lat rally.

extending parts that would tend to increase draft-.-

Instead of a rivet, a screw or boltfmaybe used.

However, it has been found that with implements are quite likelyto rustso tight that they are harder to remove than rivets. Mention was madeabove of the fact that the hoe 4 is reversible end to end in order torenew the point. When it isdesired to reverse. the shoe spit is neces-lsary to remove therod, thev journal members and the bearing blocksfromtheseveral shoes, and in order to dispose .the attaching bolt Zfin theopening [2 which when that opening isfat the forward end receives therivet-. 38, it is also nec-,

essary to remove the holding members 34. To do this it is necessary forthe, farmer; to drill out the'rivet 38, but asmentionedabovathis iseasier to do than to" remove a small screw-or bolt, the threadsofwhichhave been, rusted to the nut or other part intowhich it was originallyscrewed. After the shoe4. has beenreversed, the parts are reassembledand the other opening 1, which is now at the front end and the bearingblock secured to'the'shoel. If the journal retaining members 34 areworn'they may be replaced, but if they are not worn excessively they maybereattached byhsecuring the same to the other opening l2 with a newrivet. In order to permit reversal of the shoe 4 the members 34 must,therefore, be removable. The square bosses 3'! on the members 34 preventthe same from turning in the hole l2. Whil the use of a rivet to securethe members 34 in position is preferred. especially as compared with aflat head screw which might be passed through the apertured boss of onemember and threaded into the other, the riveted construction beingpreferred because. as a practical proposition, it is even more removablethan the screw attachment due to the tendency of the latter to rusttight, a bolt and nut attachment may be used if desired. However, thehead or nut of the bolt would not be flush with the outer surfaces ofthe attaching sections 36 and wouldtherefore offer additional resistanceto the passage of the unit to the ground. If such additional resistancis not objectionable, the bolt and nut attachment may be used for themembers 34. The riveted arrangement is, however, preferred. firstbecause it provides a more secure attachment, and second, because it isgenerally as easy or easier to drill out the rivet than it i to loosenrusted screws or bolts, especially the relatively small size which wouldbe used at this point.

While we have shown and described above the preferred structure in whichthe p p es of th present invention have been incorporated, it is to beunderstood that our invention is not to be limited to the particulardetails shown and described above, but that, in fact, widely differentmeans may be employed in the practice of the broader aspects of ourinvention.

What we claim, therefore, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a rod weeder, a shoe having an opening therein, an integralspheroidal journal member having a rod-receiving opening, an integralbearing block having a spheroidal socket adapted to receive saidspheroidal journal member and an attaching section at one side, andmeans fixing said attaching section to the side of said shoe so as todispose the central part of said socket substantially in the plane ofsaid shoe and spaced from the edge of said opening a distancesubstantially equal to the diameter of said spheroidal journal member,whereby accidental displacement of the latter is prevented.

2. In a rod weeder, a shoe having an opening therein and a notchextending to said opening, a"

journal member adapted to be disposed therein, a bearing block having asocket section to receive said journal member and an attaching sectionadapted for attachment to said shoe with said socket section insaidopening, and a pro-" jection on said bearing member adapted to bedisposed in said notch and to sustain the forces tending to cause saidsocket section to rotate relative'tosaid shoe with said journal member.

3. In a rod weeder, a shoe having an opening therein, means at the frontedge of said shoe opening forming'laterally outwardly and rearwardlyextending journal-retaining sections, an integral spheroidal journalmember having a rodreceiving opening and adapted to be inserted in saidshoe openingand seated against said journal-retaining sections, anintegralbearing block havin a spheroidalsocket adapted to receive saidspheroidal journal member and an attaching section at one side, theradially outer face of the socket portion of said bearing block alsobeing spheroidal, whereby, after said spheroidal jour nal member hasbeen seated in said shoe opening against said journal-retainingsection's, said bearing block may be placed against said journal memberat one side of said shoe opening and then passed into position in theshoe opening behind said journal member, and means fixing said attachingsection to the side of said shoe.

l. In a rod weeder, a shoe having a journalreceiving opening and anon-circular opening forwardly thereof, a pair of journal-retainingmembers having non-circular portions seated in said second opening, andmeans for holding said members in position with said portions seated insaid second opening.

5. In a rod wheeder, a shoe having a journalreceiving opening and anon-circular opening forwardly thereof, a pair of journal-retainingmembers having non-circular portions seated in said second opening, andmeans extending through said second opening for holding said members inposition. v

6. In a rod weeder, a shoe having a journalreceiving opening therein, aspheroidal journal member disposed in said opening, and a pair ofjournal-retaining members secured to said shoe generally forwardly ofsaid opening and extending generally laterally outwardly thereof.

7. In a rod weeder, a shoe having a journalreceiving opening therein, aspheroidal journal member disposed in said opening, and a pair ofjournal-retaining members secured to said shoe generally forwardly ofsaid opening and extending generally laterally outwardly thereof, thelaterally outer portions of said journal-retaining members being concaveso as to fit against said spheroidal journal member.

8. In a rod weeder, a rod-receiving journal member comprising anintegral annular ball-like part having a rod-receiving opening and aspheroidal exterior bearing surface, a stationary bearing block having aconcave bearing surface and adapted to receive and embrace saidball-like journal member, and a rod weeder shoe having an' opening andjournal-engaging means onsaid shoe at the forward edge of the openingtherein, the length of said shoe opening being substantially equal tothe diameter of said ball-like journal member and the thickness of saidbearing block, whereby when said journal member and said bearing memberare assembledinnested-ralation in said shoe opening, the ball-likejournal member is retained against lateral displacement by said forwardjournal-engaging means and the concave bearing member. v 9'. Alubricant-less bearing construction for operation underv the surface ofthe ground and in intimate contact with the soil, comprising ajournalmember anda bearing member receiving said journal member, the latterhaving one or more grooves on its exterior surface disposed at arearwardly and outwardly extending angle to the direction of rotation ofsaid journal member and extend laterally outwardly beyond the bearingmember so as to work soil and the like out from between the latter andthe bearing member.

10. In a rod weeder having a rod and a rod- .supporting shoe, aspheroidal journal member supporting shoe, a spheroidal journal member;adapted to be mounted on the rod, a concave. bearing member adapted toreceive said"'spheroidal journal, member, and means fixing "said,bearing member to said Shoe in a rearwar'dly. and upwardly disposedposition so as toleavean open; space generally behind the journal memberand. between the lower part of thebearing member and the adjacentportion of the shoe,, so as'to. facilitate the egress of soil andthelike from be: tween the journaland bearing members.

12. In a rod weeder having a rod and a rodsupporting shoe, a spheroidaljournal member adapted tobe mounted on the rod, a concave bearing memberadapted to receive said sphe roidal journal member, means fixing saidbearing; member to said shoe in arearwardly and upward: 1y disposedposition so as to leave an, open space generally behind the journalmember and be:

tween the lowerpart of the bearing member and the adjacent portion ofthe sho'e,I seas to facili tate the egress of soil and-the like frombetween the journal and baring'members, and groove means on said journalmember for working soil and the like from between said members into saidopen space. i

MILES HtTUFT; r CLARENCE 'r. nAs USSEN.

